District III - 2006/12
NEAT — Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology
NEAT was neat! Electric flight continues to be an area of unbelievable growth within aeromodeling. This year's NEAT (Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology) fair allowed those interested in the electric arena to showcase their activity. Indoor flight is becoming more practical, and the size and detail included in some of the models is mind-boggling.
Indoor Fly
The Indoor Fly, held at Downsville High School, showcased some superb models. Ray Juschkus, associate vice president for District II, provided a picture of State College, Pennsylvania resident Ben Pipenberg's Eindecker. The model is built with stick and tissue and uses an infrared receiver that Ben built himself. Would you believe this great modeler is only 17 years old?
Joe Malinchak, a pilot for US Airways, displayed models that could easily fly inside the cockpit of his full-scale aircraft. Joe flew:
- Hellcat
- Corsair
- Zero
using his Plantraco 900-MHz system. The models flew well both indoors and out.
Radio Shack Mosquito (RC Helicopter)
Some of you have been flying a model helicopter from Radio Shack named the Mosquito. The gentleman responsible for the success of this model is Petter Muren from Norway. Petter demonstrated the helicopter's capabilities by retrieving a model that was stuck in the ceiling girders.
For the past year, Terry Nitsch has been developing a promising electric ducted-fan jet. Terry's efforts were on display at NEAT.
Hirobo Cup and charity donation
Last June the Weak Signals R/C Club, with sponsorship from Model Rectifier Corporation (MRC), Model Airplane News, and Hirobo, held a Hirobo Cup helicopter fly-in at the Weak Signals field. It was three days of fun and training for more than 100 fliers and many guests.
Besides all of the fun, flying, and prizes donated by MRC and Hirobo, all of the money collected, in addition to the proceeds the Weak Signals made running a food concession, was donated to a charity selected by the Weak Signals: the LaSalle Township Volunteer Fire Department. That donation of $2,750 was made September 21 at the LaSalle Fire Department.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
